Alliance Defending Freedom has filed a new legal challenge at the California State Supreme Court in the ongoing saga over Proposition 8.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision on Prop 8 did not settle the law’s constitutionality (see Hollingsworth v. Perry page). In fact, it said nothing good or bad about marriage, redefining marriage, or Prop 8. What the High Court did say was that the official proponents of Prop 8 who have been legally defending it in court do not have the legal standing to do so. By issuing this ruling, the Supreme Court tossed out the court of appeals decision striking down Prop 8, leaving in place only the district court decision against Prop 8 from 2010. That decision’s authority, however, does not extend statewide.

Our current lawsuit asks the California State Supreme Court to affirm and enforce the rule of law – declaring that in light of the Supreme Court’s decision not to address the validity of Prop 8, that constitutional amendment remains the voter-approved law of the land.

Throwing out the votes of more than 7 million California citizens has consequences beyond marriage in California; such an outcome strikes at the foundations of our democratic process and the sovereignty of the people. With so much at stake, the citizens of California – and future generations of Americans – deserve nothing less than every ounce of our efforts to continue to seek justice in the final outcome of Prop 8.

Did you know?

The Prop 8 saga began with the people of California voting for marriage for the first time in 2000 through Proposition 22.

The California State Supreme Court struck down Proposition 22 and temporarily redefined marriage throughout the state with its In re Marriage Cases decision.

The people passed Prop 8, which restored California’s definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Every state’s executive branch is supposed to defend the laws of the state (like Prop 8) whenever they are challenged in court.

California’s governor and state attorney general refused to defend Prop 8 in court – that’s when Alliance Defending Freedom and the ProtectMarriage.com coalition united to take up the legal defense of the people of California on marriage.

The lawsuit against Prop 8 was orchestrated by Hollywood insiders (in fact, Rob Reiner and George Clooney have already unveiled a theatrical production about the trial)

The Prop 8 case was intentionally filed and tried in San Francisco, where Prop 8 was struck down as unconstitutional. That decision was issued by a judge who, like the plaintiffs that filed the case, was in a long-term same-sex relationship (a fact that he did not disclose until after his ruling).

The Prop 8 case was then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit before a 3-judge panel that included the most overturned federal judge in America. His wife also happens to have worked for 38 years as executive director of the ACLU of Southern California, and her organization filed a brief with the trial court in this very case urging the court to strike down Prop 8. Despite this, that judge refused to remove himself from the case.

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Your gifts made it possible for Alliance Defending Freedom and our allies to defend Prop 8 from the very beginning. Your continued support will enable us to gain more victories and to continue defending marriage across the nation.